


"Hush, Little Wing'

by Gemini_Baby



Series: Dick & Jason Week 2021 [3]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fear gas, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Scarecrow's Fear Toxin (DCU), Unreliable Narrator, also, though he doesn't realize it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:33:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29436114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gemini_Baby/pseuds/Gemini_Baby
Summary: Clawing his heart with sharp, precise claws and tearing his heart into pieces was something Dick never thought would be. The voice had been familiar to his ears. The sounds to his heart were not. Heart-wrenching sobs from the figure beside him were shaking Dick to his core. The sobs were not even fully formed. Short but deep pained sobs, groans of pains and the way they sounded and trembled his body.OR: Dick, Jason, fear toxin and some hurt/comfort
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Jason Todd
Series: Dick & Jason Week 2021 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2151471
Comments: 10
Kudos: 89
Collections: DickJay Week 2021





	"Hush, Little Wing'

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!  
> This is written using the prompt, "Hush, Little Wing"  
> I loved this prompt. But sadly couldn't do it justice as despite having worked on it for days, it's not...good. I think I might have a writer's block.  
> So I know it is not good. It's just....AAAAAAA but I also wanted to post something today.
> 
> Thank you to TheGM for looking over this  
> Any mistakes are mine

The effects of fear gas were still there. Dick could feel them; in the rush of his blood, in the noise of his erratic and heavy breathing, in the way, his heart thrummed so loudly that he was sure anyone around could hear it. But he was currently feeling a lot better than before, as the mentioned things had been only some of the after-effects left after he had taken the antidote. The worst had been over for him.

Sadly, he was not the only one caught in this situation. He had Red Hood with him in the place too. He had been here, crumpled on the ground, injured before Nightwing even arrived. But later, writhing in pain and screaming loudly, when Nightwing had tried to mouth off with the henchmen.

Dick was given a fear gas dose too and that was not fun. His antidote had worked. Not much but still. The cloudy haze of fear fading. Jason, though….Jason hadn’t recovered from it. Dick had administered him anti-dote, too.

A lot could be said about the situation they were in. Despite being the one known as ‘chatty’, there were things Dick didn’t put into words. Didn’t like putting into words. Couldn’t put them into words. Words had always been to define something definite. How does one frame the abstract ideas, fleeting glances, emotions and feelings that were hard to pinpoint into the moulds of words? It would have been like trying to stop liquid through a strainer.

It was dark that much Dick knew. Inside and outside. In front and behind. Around and beyond. From the spots dancing on the edges of his vision to his heart doing backwards somersaults, Dick had grasped the gist of the current situation they were in.

Blinking, he tried to grasp something more. Something which wouldn’t feel like sand escaping the grasp in his hand. Something that would be other than the consuming fire in his veins, deep-seated exhaustion in his bones or the guilt because Dick knew this predicament had been his fault, as clear as Dick knew the Robin legacy was his’.

Clawing his heart with sharp, precise claws and tearing his heart into pieces was something Dick never thought would be. The voice had been familiar to his ears. The sounds to his heart were not. Heart-wrenching sobs from the figure beside him were shaking Dick to his core. The sobs were not even fully formed. Short but deep pained sobs, groans of pains and the way they sounded and trembled his body.

Jason’s voice was something Dick had always loved. Something that had sometimes helped him sleep; reading to him when Dick had been not feeling good and wanted a distraction, bantering and teasing Dick as he distracted him from his sour moods when Dick had grown tired of others’ voices dripping with pity, or sometimes just short voice messages dropped at Dick’s phone because either he was checking in himself with Dick or trying to know if Dick was okay.

They did not have the most full-fledged relationship. It was not the friendliest one either. But it was nice. Before right now, Dick had never realized that he and Jason even had talked that much. Or if Jason had talked that much to him. But Dick remembered the chuckles, snorts and laughs of Jason. The voice was Jason calming his nerves, soothing him, and many times helping him sleep. Nothing like the sounds right now echoing around them shaking Dick to his core, making his nerves a mess. It was the sound which would keep Dick awake for many nights.

If Dick was going to remember this through nightmares later, Jason was currently living one. 

He had tried to help. Oh.  _ How laughable his help had been... _

He had soon found out that instead of the antidote helping Jason, it had accelerated and strengthened the effects. He could  _ not  _ help Jason. Instead of being able to help Jason,  _ he had worsened his condition. _ It was his fault. He couldn’t even help and lessen the pain. He had just gone and increased it by administering the anti-dote. No wonder Jason didn’t want to be around him most of the time. Perhaps he was right in avoiding Dick after all. A part of Dick whispered that maybe Dick, too, still had the effects of fear gas left in him…

Right now, he was going to put the blame on all these thoughts on fear gas and its effects. If they continued afterwards when they got out here, it would prove that Dick is...someone to be hated, after the effects of the fear gas subside, well, that was the problem for Future Dick.

Right now his priority should be Jason. 

Dick had managed to loosen his bonds. He turned towards his brother and tried to reach him. 

The place was too dark and Dick couldn’t tell much about what was the condition of Jason or look over him for injuries, properly. The tech in his mask had broken during the earlier fight.

Closing the distance, he moved to where Jason was. Jason kept thrashing. Cheeks stained by tears. There were sobs wrecking. Dick couldn’t do anything. It was his fault that Jason was in this condition. And he  _ could not do anything _ .

Dick looked around, surveilling the environment they were in. it looked like a warehouse upon squinting. A dark, eerie warehouse. No wonder Jason was thrashing this much. If the fear gas had been feeding him distorted stories based on his memories and past trauma, the warehouse brought realism by providing the perfect background to trigger Jason.

He needed to get them both out of here. And for that, he needed Jason to stop thrashing and punching him in the nose. He was not his enemy. Not that Jason could tell right now. 

“Hey, it’s going to be okay”, he tried to reassure Jason. 

“I am sorry” was all he said as he used a tranquiliser on Jason. The environment they were in was unfamiliar. Not to mention dangerous.

_ (‘Not more dangerous to him than your presence’ hissed something inside him.) _

He needed to take Jason to somewhere safe. He picked Jason up to take him to his apartment.

Jason was going to hate him so much for the tranq thing.

_ (As if he didn’t hate you before. As if you aren’t something to be hated.) _

Dick got Jason out from his bonds. The ride back to the apartment was something Dick didn’t want a repeat of. Not the vehicle. Because he had come with the flying batmobile and had parked it outside in stealth mode, earlier.

Getting Jason safely sat in the seat and trying not to sleep himself as they flew towards their destination was exhausting. Dick blinked several times 

  
  


After they had reached his apartment, Dick had first settled Jason on the couch. Then brought sheets and mattress to the living room. He made a sort of bed there. Anything to keep his hands busy and trying to keep his thoughts tucked away. Not ready to confront his failures, for now. he busied himself with making the bed perfect. Then he went to grab pillows, more sheets and blankets. After he was done, he shifted Jason onto it.

Later, Jason began stirring and later thrashing. Dick tried to calm him down but it might have been seen as being restrained as it put Jason on edge even more than before.

“Hush, Little Wing”

“I have got you”

“It’s okay”

Jason sniffed and buried his face in the croon of Dick’s neck. His fingers bunching up the material of Dick’s shirt. Dick held him, rocking back and forth as much as he could in that position. He scratched at Jason’s hair lightly, at first to test it. Jason buried his face deeper into the crook of Dick’s neck. So Dick continued.

He kept muttering reassurances. Something must have happened recently that had Jason so shook that he had been reacting not how he usually would. A part of Dick was glad that he was here for his brother. The other sobbed in not knowing what had hurt his brother so deeply.

Untangling himself, he adjusted Jason and tucked him under the blankets.

Jason was not asleep or unconscious. But Dick could tell he was too exhausted and had run out of any energy.

Jason’s cheeks were marred with bloodstains and tears. Dick grabbed a cloth from the bedside drawers by reaching out towards it as much as he could. It was nice to be flexible. He got water from the bottle there too. Wetting the cloth with it, he started tapping it lightly on Jason’s face. Jason made a face but complied. 

After he felt that he had been thorough with his fussing over Jason, he stopped the tapping and put away the cloth. They lied on the bed for some time. 

Dick could then feel Jason’s body tensing up. He knew where this was going. Jason was not going to be happy. Not after crying in front of Dick. Not after appearing vulnerable so openly. Not after being hurt.

Not...not after being hurt because of Dick. 

Dick didn’t blame Jason for that. He braced himself.

Jason loosened his grip on Dick’s shirt, moved his face away from where he had placed it on Dick’s neck and leaned back. He wasn’t tugging at Dick like he was a few minutes before. His hands were on Dick’s shoulders. He looked at Dick. Jason kept looking; his face was unreadable. Dick held the stare. Even though he felt like looking down. They just stared at each other for minutes. It was the most awkward thing happening that evening in Dick’s opinion.

Dick gave in to the urge as he dropped his gaze. He could feel Jason looking at him. He didn’t know what was going in Jason’s head.

Jason approached slowly. Fingers bunching up the material of the shirt on Dick’s shoulders. His fingers untangled again. Dick watched confused as Jason’s hands slipped from shoulders to Dick’s back. Jason closed the distance between them. It hit Dick then that  _ Jason was hugging him. _

Jason’s shoulders were still tense. Even if he was hugging Dick, it was evident that he was nervous. Dick didn’t know why he was nervous though. Or he would try and soothe his brother’s worries. Not knowing what else to do and still reeling from the guilt from earlier, he wrapped one arm around Jason and the other hand going on the back of Jason’s head as he tucks his younger brother’s head under his chin. When he looked down, the tightness in Jason’s posture had disappeared. 

Dick felt Jason move a bit, adjusting himself. In answer, Dick adjusted his grip on Jason too. He felt Jason melting against him.

Dick blinked his eyes. He felt not good. Tears were on the verge. He didn’t want to cry. He wasn’t feeling good. It was weird and unsettling.

He was also under the effects of it, then. 

He felt hands slowly rubbing his back. He tightened his own hold on Jason. He felt him tense up.

( _ Dick must have ruined it all, now) _

Then the hold tightens on him too.

“Sorry for earlier”, he said because what else could he say and that was the first thing that came in his head.

“It wasn’t your fault” , Jason said.

“It was. I should have known better.”

Jason tugged Dick’s shirt, “Dickie, look at me.” When he was satisfied that Dick was now looking at him, he continued, “It was not your fault.”

“But -”

The arms around tightened,  _ squeezing. _

“Cracking my ribs, are you?”

“Shoot. Sorry.” Jason to his credit looked sheepish and loosened his hold. 

“It’s okay.”

“Can I ask something of you?”

“Jay, you can ask for  _ anything.” _

“You can say no. Don’t feel pressured to agree.”

“Okay.” 

“Please don’t be mad.”

“Jason, I won’t.”

“Leave it.”

“What?” 

“This is stupid!”

“Humour me?”

“Hold your Little Wing?”

“I thought I was?”

“I already told you this is stupid”

“Wait, did you mean I hold you and that’s how we go to sleep?”

“I….yes”

“Sorry. Leave it. I said this is stupid”

“Hey! I will hold my Little Wing”

Dick knew he might not get to hold Jason tomorrow or comfort him but he can today and Jason himself asked him to do that.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> ...if you made it till here, what are your thoughts? Share them with me?


End file.
